


The Rendezvous

by DarkCorgi



Series: Firsts [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Romance, Slash, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-06-20
Updated: 2004-06-20
Packaged: 2018-09-27 21:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10049606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCorgi/pseuds/DarkCorgi
Summary: After the defeat of Voldemort, Severus and Harry are meeting for their first date.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I’m just borrowing them because she writes too slowly.  
Notes: Part of the Severus Snape Fuh-Q Fest. Scenario #19 First Date Blues  
Spoilers: There is some Order of the Phoenix spoilers here.  
Archiving: The Severus Snape Fuh-Q Fest Archive. After the fest please ask.  
A/N: I must give my humble thanks to my beta Rane who helped me beat this little tale into shape.

The Rendezvous

Here I stand, Severus Snape, Hogwarts’ most feared professor, critically examining my reflection in a full-length mirror. I know what the students call me in the halls and dorms. They call me a sarcastic and cruel greasy-haired git, but never to my face. Only one person has cared to look behind the façade I wear, the image I project. The new robes I purchased especially for this occasion feel very different from my everyday robes though they do hide how thin I am. Madam Malkin outdid herself with these. I hope he appreciates what I’m doing for him.

I remove the new robes and change into my everyday garb. I have potions to make for Madam Pomfrey. As I prepare the potions I’ve mixed thousands of times before, I allow my mind to drift to thoughts of Harry. I’ve watched him grow from a gangly boy to a stunning young man and didn’t realize until his sixth year how very attractive he was. It was at that time, to my surprise, that I started referring to him as Harry in my head. I was even more surprised to discover how much I wanted him. I was thoroughly shocked to find he felt the same way. I wouldn’t become involved with a student and he reluctantly agreed to wait until his graduation before we took the first step. That was three months of torture for both of us. Three months of heated glances disguised by our old masks of mutual loathing. I didn’t think I would make it through the remainder of the year.

I finish my work with several hours to spare. It is time to get ready. I strip and step into the shower to remove the grime of my day’s work. As I shower, my thoughts drift back to the final showdown with the Dark Lord. I still can not refer to monster by his name even in my head. How pitiful. That day was one of the most horrible yet wonderful days in my life. It made tonight with Harry possible.

 

Despite my cover within the Dark Lord’s ranks blown, I had still managed to uncover enough clues to determine his next move against the wizarding world. Knowing who in Knockturn Alley could be bought was an advantage though not as much as having a spy in the ranks. He was planning to attack Hogsmeade during one of the weekends the students were allowed to visit. Once he'd have captured as many students as he could, he would hold them as hostages to draw out Dumbledore and Harry. We had a stroke of luck when Miss Granger’s cat caught an unusual rat. The rat turned out to be Wormtail. A little application of Veritaserum gave us the date of the attack and the gathering place. The Dark Lord and his minions were in for a shock when we met them at the stile ready for battle. The teachers, parents, Aurors, 6th year and 7th year students will be on hand to fight.

It was decided at the war council that Harry wouldn’t be part of the main force. He was to go with a group of bodyguards to assassinate the Dark Lord during the battle. He insisted on picking out his own people for this mission. His choices were sound and surprising. I would have expected him to surround himself with Gryffindors, but he didn’t. He surrounded himself with the most competent people he knew. He chose Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Blustrode, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillian and, wonder of wonders, Draco Malfoy. When he saw my questioning look he just shrugged and stated they were the best people from the defence tutorials he'd been holding. He didn’t have any trouble shedding the old house rivalries when he needed to. 

Draco’s inclusion surprised and pleased me. I had worked hard trying to convince him not to join the Dark Lord and for the longest time I thought I had failed. The Dark Lord did the work for me. Draco had the misfortune of witnessing his father being tortured by the monster for failing an impossible task set to him. Lucius didn’t survive the experience and Narcissa took the opportunity to flee. Draco made his choice and talked many of his fellow Slytherins into joining the light. It was Draco who suggested having one of the other students masquerade as Harry during the battle. It really was quite brilliant and no one was surprised when the last Weasley boy at Hogwarts volunteered.

The morning of the attack dawned and I found myself standing at Albus’ left hand side while Minerva stood at his right. The clearing was quiet for a few brief moments and then the silence was broken by the distinctive cracks of people Apparating. The Dark Lord and his army had arrived. The Death Eaters stood in surprise for a moment until we started flinging curses at them. They quickly returned fire, targeting the students, thinking they would be easy prey and attempting to distract the adults. The students proved them wrong as they cursed Death Eaters and monster alike. No Death Eater was more surprised than Bellatrix Lestrange as Mr. Longbottom ended her life, thereby avenging his parents. 

Harry and his vanguard were in the woods on the left side of the stile circling around the battle and waiting for their signal to strike. As the battle dragged on, our fake Mr. Potter snuck a dose of Draught of the Living Death as the Dark Lord targeted him. As the decoy “died” before the curse struck him a fountain of red sparks erupted behind me. Taking their cue, Harry’s vanguard charged out of the woods, hexing and cursing everyone in their way as they carved a path to the Dark Lord. I tried to watch Harry’s movements but lost sight of him while dodging an attack from Nott. 

Searing pain caused me to scream out in agony and I barely recognized the sounds of others bearing the same agony. The pain in my left arm caused me to collapse on the ground along with the Dark Lords minions. I was barely aware of someone standing over my prone body deflecting curses as I suffered from the pain. Many of the Death Eaters collected themselves enough to Apparate away. As quickly as the pain started it was over and I tore the left sleeve of my robes to see the mark that tortured me for so long gone. I was finally free. Harry once again survived an encounter with the monster.

Many of the Death Eaters escaped, though we did manage to capture or kill a large number of them. Those who escaped will definitely come back for revenge when they’re done licking their wounds. We hurriedly sent the seriously wounded to the hospital wing and secured the prisoners. I don’t know where any of us found the energy after hours of throwing and dodging curses. As I worked, I looked around for Harry but didn't see any sign of him or his bodyguards. 

Eventually Albus became worried and sent me off to look for them. I searched for them for a half-hour and came across the body of the Dark Lord during my search. I was flabbergasted when I noticed the means of his demise. Harry had killed one of the most powerful wizards in existence with a physical blow instead a magical curse. Something the Dark Lord wouldn’t have expected him to do. The being I feared for all my adult life felled by a teenage boy. I stood there in amazement before I stalked towards the woods and caught a glimpse of Draco’s silvery blonde hair amongst the foliage. I strode to his location and noticed Ms. Weasley standing next to him. Both were constantly scrutinizing their surroundings for enemies lurking. 

“Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley, where are Potter and the others?” I barked out while looking both over. I noticed Draco had burns on his arms while Ms. Weasley had several bleeding cuts on her face and arms though none were serious looking. Both looked as tired as I felt.

“Potter’s by the stream; most of the others are standing guard. I believe Granger’s escorting Chang to the hospital wing. She was hit pretty badly with a Cutting Curse.”

“Gather the others and head back to the school. I’ll retrieve Potter and bring him back.”

I watched them separate and move off to where the others had stationed themselves before I continued on to the stream. I took a moment to examine the young man and once again was momentarily taken by how beautiful he looked. I immediately squashed that thought before walking up to him. I was startled into taking a step back as he rose with the speed of a striking snake to point his wand at my head. He was surprised but his hand was steady until he managed to identify me and lowered his wand with a sigh of relief. 

“I’m glad to see you, Professor. I was worried for a moment that the Aurors would target you when Voldemort went down.” Harry said after a moment’s pause. There was something in his eyes I couldn’t identify. 

“Sorry to disappoint you.” I replied with a half-hearted sneer. 

“I’m not disappointed, sir. I’m relieved. I care about what happens to you whether you believe it or not.” He replied frankly. He turned away from me to look at the stream again. I heard him whisper to himself. “I care more than I should.”

I didn’t quite believe what I'd heard. I stood there staring at him for a few moments trying to rein in my emotions. I inched closer to him while he examined the stream. “What did you say?” I asked in a silky whisper while I struggled to keep my emotionless mask.

He mumbled to himself and I ground my teeth in frustration. I repeated my question allowing more than a hint of annoyance to creep into my voice. My stomach felt like several snakes had taken up residence while I awaited his response.

“I care for you more than I should.” He whispered while I stood there trying to find my voice. He looked up when I gave no response. He bent down to pick a length of metal I hadn’t noticed when I'd arrived. It was the sword of Godric Gryffindor. The heir of Slytherin wad been killed with the sword of Gryffindor: a fitting end for the Dark Lord. Harry started to walk away and I mentally kicked myself, my inner voice shouting ‘say something, you fool!’ 

“You’re not the only one.” I managed to choke out. He stopped and looked over his shoulder; I took the opportunity to stride over to him. He looked at me with widening eyes and I felt some heat in my cheeks. I couldn’t believe it. Harry must have thought I was going mad. “I do care for you much more than I’ve let on, Harry.” I softly added.

When Harry looked up at me his eyes conveyed such need that it caused my hands to shake. I knew I didn’t have my emotionless mask on any more and wondered what he saw. We stared searchingly into each other’s eyes for several long moments and both of us unconsciously leaned towards each other. Our lips met with an intensity that made my knees weak. The kiss gained in intensity and we only broke apart when the need for oxygen became too great. We broke apart, chests heaving, and I saw the passion glazing Harry’s eyes. We stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment before we could recover our wits.

 

I jerk my thoughts back to the present though not without a small smile. As I dress once again in those new robes I mentally go over my plans for tonight. Harry’s being Muggle-raised had been a blessing for me. There is so much of the wizarding world he’s never had the chance to experience. I've bought tickets for one of the better wizarding orchestras and I truly hope he enjoys it. Wizard’s classical music transcends that of Muggles in a way that is hard to describe. I’ve made reservations for dinner after the concert and plan on showing him some of the sites of London that the Muggles don’t see. After that, who knows?

After I finish dressing I find myself once again in front of the mirror. Instead of working on any number of experimental potions, I'm going on a date. A date with none other than Harry Potter, the boy I loathed for five years. A young man I suddenly noticed I was attracted to. I wonder when my befuddled mind has taken leave of its senses. I can’t help the smirk that crosses my face when I imagine Black’s reaction to this. Too bad the mangy mutt is no longer amongst the living so I can rub his nose in it. My stomach is starting to roil with nerves. I’m so nervous at this point that I’m trying to smooth out wrinkles in my clothes that aren’t there. I had better leave before I lose my nerve completely.

I leave my dungeons in my usual stalk and head for the front doors. I can feel a familiar gaze on my back and I resist the urge to turn and glare. I can just picture the twinkle in the old man’s eyes as he watches me leave. I can hear him chuckling softly and I hurry my pace so I can resist the need to hex him into oblivion. Sometimes I really hate that old man. I wonder if he and the rest of the staff have some kind betting pool running. They’ve been acting oddly since school let out for the summer. I shrug the feeling off and continue on to the edge of the wards. Once there I take a deep breath and Apparate to Harry’s home.

I reappear near Harry’s home and walk through the wards protecting Harry from those Death Eaters that escaped the day of the Dark Lord’s demise. Fear for Harry’s safety once again makes wards around his home necessary. The Aurors still haven’t caught all of the remaining madmen and I know that they’ll rear their ugly heads to cause some havoc in the near future. Harry’s house is a modest little cottage hidden away in a small wooded area. When I reach the door I knock and wait for my date to answer. After a few moments Harry opens the door and greets me with a blinding smile while stepping aside to let me inside. He's wearing emerald green robes which make the green of his eyes that much brighter; eyes that are no longer framed by those ridiculous glasses. He must have gotten Muggle contacts after school ended.

“Hi, Severus.” He quietly says as he smiles at me once more.

“Good Evening, Harry.” I reply just as quietly while I watch him check that his wand is secured. He looks up when he's done and I nearly lose myself in his eyes. “We had better leave now if we do not wish to be late.” 

“All right, Severus. Where are we off to or are you going to leave me in the dark all night?” He asks with laughter in his voice as we walk past his wards.

“You’ll see when we get there.” I continue walking past the wards and I smirk when I see him glaring at me. “You do know where the ministry offices are? Apparate to the alley on the right of the ministry; I’ll meet you there. We’ll be able to walk to our destination from there.” When I receive an affirmative from him I promptly Apparate to our destination and Harry follows mere seconds later.

“We don’t have much time, so if you would please hurry.” I tilt my head forward so that my hair hides my grin of amusement at the frustrated sigh he releases. I still enjoy baiting him. I hope he doesn’t expect me to change that much. 

We quickly reach the concert hall hidden in an abandoned Muggle factory and I struggle to hide my amusement at his reaction. I hand the tickets to the witch at the entrance and we make our way to our seats. I watch him gaze around the theatre in wonder before he turns back to me in curiosity. Before he has a chance to ask the many questions I can see in his eyes, the lights dim and the orchestra starts playing. I quickly glance around marking the exits and looking for anything suspicious. Old habits die hard, very hard. I turn just in time to catch Harry doing the same before the music catches his attention. I watch him settle down to listen and see his eyes glaze slightly as the magic-infused music sweeps over him. I take advantage of his distraction to examine him between sweeps of the room. He’s developed an unconscious grace. The smallest gesture he makes while listening causes my breath to hitch and his smile makes my heart race. It’s amazing how he’s managed to breach my barriers in such a short time. Yes, my mind has definitely taken leave of its senses. He looks totally enraptured by the music and I settle down to watch him while the music continues.

When the concert ends I lead him out of the hall to a small alley while he tries to gather himself. Inwardly I smile at his obvious enjoyment. “Well, did you enjoy the concert?” I just had to ask so I could hear him fumble for the words.

“Yes, yes, I did, very much. It was so…" he replies, stumbling in search of an appropriate description. He then glares at me knowing that I’m enjoying his struggle for words while I maintain my impassive mask letting only my eyes show my amusement. “Okay, words just can’t describe it. If Muggles could hear this, there would be a lot of out of work musicians in their world.” 

“Thank you, Severus.” He whispers softly to me and his eyes lit up, accompanied by a mischievous grin. Before I can react to his expression, his hand snakes behind my head, pulls it down and graces my lips with a searing kiss. It makes the only kiss we shared seem chaste. While our tongues compete for dominance, my mind relinquishes control to other portions of my anatomy, much to my disgust. The kiss finally ends when we both run out of air and need to breathe. Harry stands there panting with a huge grin plastered across his face and lust-glazed eyes. I stand there, struggling to maintain my usual composure while being grateful that my robes hid my more obvious reaction. I glare at him for his public display of affection, which makes his grin widen and I realize that I failed miserably at the attempt.

I decide to pretend this didn’t happen and turn to leave the alley. “I did make dinner reservations.” I call over my shoulder and notice that he was following me while chuckling to himself.

“Which restaurant did you make reservations at?” he asks when he caught up to me. 

“I made reservations at the Chameleon. It’s an excellent restaurant though it does have one drawback. The majority of the ministry employees eat there on a regular basis.” I couldn’t mask my intense dislike for ministry and its minions.

“Ah, I remember Mr. Weasley mentioning it once. It’s close to the ministry offices, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s right down the next alley. Now hurry along.” 

When we arrive at the restaurant and are seated Harry starts bombarding me with questions about my research. If there’s any way to get me to babble continuously, it’s to ask me about my passion; and talk I do. Amazingly enough he IS interested and asks intelligent questions. Where was all that when he was my student? It also pleases me to no end that he takes an interest in my work. I go on talking so long I don’t remember what I ordered and am half-way through my meal before I stop. I’ll save my intentions to improve the Wolfsbane Potion for another time. 

“When does the Auror training session start?” I’m not pleased with his fifth year decision to become an Auror. He’s been a target for madmen all his life so, of course, he chooses a job to continue that trend.

“The camp begins next week. Ron’s been looking forward to it.”

I look up in surprise when he only mentions Ron. “Aren’t you supposed to be there, too? Minerva bullied me into taking you into the advanced Potions class because you wanted to be an Auror and needed the Potions NEWT for it.”

“Professor McGonagall? Huh! I thought Professor Dumbledore talked you into that!” Harry replies with a start. “Well, she did say she would do everything she could to make sure I had the chance to be one. I decided on a change of career paths after Voldemort’s demise. The headmaster offered me a teaching job if I took the required courses at university.”

“What makes you think you can teach?” I reply with a sneer. I’d never let him know how pleased I am at the career change.

“If I can teach Neville to aim straight I can teach anyone!” He replies with a laugh. “When classes started again in my sixth year Professor Dumbledore asked me to continue with the D.A. club in the Room of Requirement.”

“All right, I’ll admit Longbottom didn’t hit anyone on our side during the battle.” It’s the closest he’ll get to a compliment from me. I hope he realizes it. When I glance up at him I can see he does since he’s got another grin plastered across his face. “Would you like to leave now? There are several places around London I know you’ve never seen with those relatives of yours.”

“Sure, let’s go!” he replies quickly, but from the look in his eyes I can tell what sights he’d rather see. One would think he’s never had sex before or maybe he hasn’t… With that thought my mind has once again allowed my hormones to gain control. I hope I make it through the rest of the night without fainting caused by the sudden rush of blood to other areas. 

Shortly after I pay the bill for our meal, the ground suddenly starts shaking beneath our feet. An explosion sends smoke and debris through the air. Harry and I both leap into combat positions and have our wands out before the smoke has cleared. When it does my heart sinks and I bare my teeth in a grimace. What I feared is happening tonight of all nights. Those Death Eaters who escaped the last battle have decided to run a suicide revenge mission. Why the idiots can’t just forget everything and try to live a normal life I’ll never know. I think they want to take out as many ministry people as they can before they’re cut down. They may get a lot of them since the fools are sitting and standing with their mouths gaping. Beside Harry and myself only a small handful of ministry people have their wands drawn. Before I can shout an order at the rest of the fools the Death Eaters start flinging curses at the crowd of diners. 

Harry dives off to one side while flinging hexes at an astonishing pace. I find myself facing two of the fools and spend much of my time dodging curses. I notice than many of the patrons have recovered their wits and where fighting back while ducking a hex aimed at me. I stupefy one of my foes while diving out of the way of other’s hex and find myself unable to recover my balance enough to avoid another hex the second wizard prepares to throw at me. I struggle to regain my footing while trying to hold back the panic that overtakes me. Fortune is on my side when one of the ministry witches notices and aims a hex at my attacker, causing the curse he cast my way to deflect towards the ceiling. Plaster falls all around me as I try to scramble out of the way and the last thing I’m aware of is the impact of something heavy landing on my head as I try to scramble out of the way. 

I come to hearing my name being frantically called by Harry. I can’t focus my eyes. Harry pulls the remains of whatever fell on me off and helps me to my feet. “Do you want to go to St. Mungo’s, Severus, or should we floo back to Hogwarts? You probably have a concussion.” He’s very worried; I can hear it in his voice.

I turn my unfocused gaze in his direction and rasp out, “Hogwarts.”

Harry supports my taller frame and floos from the restaurant to the infirmary at Hogwarts. He shouts for Madam Pomfrey, who scurries over as Harry helps me onto a bed. She promptly throws Harry out of the hospital wing before he can get in her way and begins her examination. 

“You’ve got a concussion and a few lacerations, Severus,” she tells me while casting some Healing Charms to close the cuts I received. “Take these potions now and get some rest. I’ll let you leave in the morning, but don’t try sneaking out tonight or I’ll tie you to the bed.” Given the fact that the room is spinning and I still can’t focus, I take the potions without an argument. Oblivion promptly takes hold of me again.

Several hours later I awake to see Harry sitting by my bedside waiting for me to return to consciousness. He gives me a relieved smile when he sees my eyes open. I take a quick look around before returning my gaze to him. “What fell on me?” I growl once I confirmed no one else is in the room with us.

“A chandelier fell on you when someone deflected a curse being cast at you. Are you feeling any better? You couldn’t focus at all when you came to.” The concern in his voice is very apparent as I take a quick mental inventory of any pains I may have.

“I’m fine. I can see clearly and the room isn’t tilting anymore. Did they capture those fools?”

“Yes, those of us who were capable of doing more than gibber helplessly in the corner managed to contain them until the Aurors came to mop up.” He replies rolling his eyes. He then returned his gaze to me before giving me another of those mischievous smiles. 

He hesitates a moment then says, “I’ve got to say, Severus, that was one hell of a first date.”

I grace him with one of my more potent glares before replying. “Ending up in the infirmary was not what I had in mind.”

Harry chuckled. “It wasn’t what I was planning on either, but I’ve waited this long, another few days won’t kill me.”

Harry then swiftly bends over my prone form and gives me a kiss full of promise. I’m definitely going to hold him to it.

\--Fin--


End file.
